Kansas (Kansas album)

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Kansas
Cover painting by John Steuart Curry
Studio album by
Kansas
ReleasedMarch 8, 1974
RecordedSeptember & December 1973
StudioRecord Plant Studios "A" and "C", New York City
Genre
Length45:05
LabelKirshner (US)
Epic (Europe)
ProducerWally Gold
Kansas chronology
Kansas
(1974) 		Song for America
(1975)
Singles from Kansas
  1. "Can I Tell You"
    Released: May 1974[1]
  2. "Lonely Wind"
    Released: February 1975[2]

Kansas is the debut studio album by American progressive rock band Kansas, released in 1974 by Kirshner in the United States and Epic Records in other countries.

Kansas's debut album followed the merging of two Topeka musical camps: Kerry Livgren, from a previous Kansas line-up, and White Clover, which played mainstream rock and blues. The newly formed group signed with Kirshner Records in 1973 and traveled to New York to record their first release.

The material on Kansas, written mostly by guitarist/keyboardist Livgren and vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh, had been culled from the repertoire of both groups. Livgren's songs were generally longer and more elaborate than Walsh's and featured mystical lyrics which reflected his intense interest in Eastern religions. "Journey from Mariabronn" was inspired by Hermann Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund, while "Belexes" and "Aperçu" were influenced by the pseudo-Asian sound of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot.

Kansas was promoted by print advertisements which included the tagline "Kansas is Koming." A promotional 7-inch single titled "Man the Stormcellars: Kansas is Koming!" was sent to radio stations and featured Don Kirshner hyping the album. Two 7-inch singles were released: "Can I Tell You" and "Lonely Wind". Both failed to chart, though a live version of "Lonely Wind" (from the double-live album Two for the Show) did reach the Top 100 in early 1979. Playlist: Bringing It Back featured five songs from this album and five from Masque. The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 2004.[3] A remastered version of the album appeared on vinyl in 2014.

Artwork[edit]

The album cover depicts abolitionist John Brown in a scene from Tragic Prelude, a mural by Kansas native John Steuart Curry.[4] The original mural is painted on a wall at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. The album cover image is severely discolored and cropped to show only a small part of the original painting.

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
MusicHound Rock2/5[6]
ProgressiveWorld.net[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

In a contemporary review for New Musical Express, Max Bell wrote that, despite Kansas having all the elements for subtlety, "bristling with hard rock commonplace, speed and beat, they rapidly cancel any hints of originality", showing a lack of personality which transforms the listening of the album in a boring enterprise.[9]

AllMusic's retrospective review gave the nod to the band's mix of progressive rock and boogie rock as being unique, but contended that it also makes them less interesting than other progressive rock bands. They also criticized their ambitiousness as being overdone: "there're a lot of scales and arpeggios, galloping triplets, dramatic organ, and stately ballads that signify nothing and go nowhere."[5]

Tom Karr at ProgressiveWorld.net described the album as "an outstanding debut, a brilliant display of song writing and musicianship, and a great statement of Kansas's musical ethos." He felt that the song "Aperçu" has "Kansas at their best, with frequent use of time and tempo changes, and well developed musical themes, showing a group of outstanding players and arrangers. The level of instrumental virtuosity displayed here is jaw dropping, and on either side of the Atlantic, there were few that could even hope to approach Kansas's mastery of their craft." He defined "Journey From Mariabronn" as "Kansas's first full-on symphonic rock masterpiece, and the song has so many strong elements and themes, it goes beyond any simple analysis. This song provides the paradigm for the great works of the future, and introduces the writing style that would produce the wonderful songs of Kansas's early discography."[7]

Ranking on the Billboard album chart as high as #174, the Kansas album in the months subsequent to its release in the spring of 1974 sold over 135,000 units.[10] The platinum success of Kansas' fourth and fifth album releases: Leftoverture (1976) and Point of Know Return (1977), revived commercial interest in the band's early output, it being reported in January 1978 that both the albums Kansas and Song for America had at that point each sold between 300,000 and 400,000 units, with the third Kansas album, Masque (1976), having been certified Gold for sales of 500,000 units the previous month.[11] Both Kansas and Song for America would eventually be certified Gold for selling 500,000 units, Song for America as early as 1980 but Kansas not until 1995.

Track listing[edit]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Can I Tell You"Rich Williams, Steve Walsh, Phil Ehart, Dave HopeSteinhardt and Walsh3:32
2."Bringing It Back" (J. J. Cale cover)J. J. CaleSteinhardt3:33
3."Lonely Wind"WalshWalsh4:16
4."Belexes"Kerry LivgrenWalsh4:23
5."Journey from Mariabronn"Livgren, WalshWalsh7:55
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."The Pilgrimage"Livgren, WalshWalsh3:42
7."Aperçu"Livgren, WalshSteinhardt and Walsh9:54
8."Death of Mother Nature Suite"LivgrenSteinhardt7:43
Bonus track on 2004 CD reissue
No.TitleLength
9."Bringing It Back" (Live at the Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio, 1975)9:41

Personnel[edit]

Kansas
Additional musicians
Production

Charts[edit]

Chart (1974) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 174

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Kansas singles".
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 449. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ^ Discogs - 21 released versions of the Kansas album
  4. ^ "The 10 best album sleeves taken from old paintings". January 2, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Allmusic review". Allmusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  6. ^ Graff, Gary (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Canton, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. p. 377. ISBN 978-0787610371. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Karr, Tom. "ProgressiveWorld.net review". Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  8. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Kansas". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 446. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ^ Bell, Max (April 26, 1975). "Kansas: Kansas". NME. Retrieved July 17, 2018.(registration required)
  10. ^ The Fremont Argus 28 March 1975 "Kirshner Plans Big Anniversary Show" by Kathie Staska & George Mangrum p.22
  11. ^ Cashbox 14 January 1978 "Success of Kansas Traced to Constant Touring, FM Airplay" by Mark Mehler p.12
  12. ^ "Kansas Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kansas – Kansas". Music Canada.
  14. ^ "American album certifications – Kansas – Kansas". Recording Industry Association of America.
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